Young athletes in modern day sport more and more have to market and network for themselves in order to get exposure to top colligate programs and/or professional clubs. This is no different when speaking about Canadian athletes and specifically soccer players. However, in most cases players don’t know the first thing to do when seeking out a reputable agent, showing off their CV, photos and video to top programs/clubs, how to make themselves stand out to scouts etc… This is where Sportfolioz comes into play.
Sportfolioz is a Canadian based company involving three business partners, one of which is CEO Omar Jbaihi. Omar is deeply involved in Canadian grassroots soccer as coach of University of Toronto Mississauga of the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) and recently hired head coach of Milltown FC of the Peel-Halton Soccer League. The overriding goal of this project is to connect young Canadian players with reputable people in the industry worldwide and get them playing in the right systems predicated on developing their skills. While this is ultimately geared towards athletes of all sports, it will have a heavy hand in showcasing top soccer talent.
Speaking with him recently we discussed a variety of topics around youth development in Canada and you only have to talk to him for a moment to know that he “gets it”. A native of Middlesbrough, England, he comes from a strong football background and his ideas around growing soccer in Canada are right in line with the modern day game. He both recognizes the good the country is doing as well as realizing where Canadian soccer needs to improve. The difference between him and others is he’s not all talk but rather “in the trenches” hard at work.
When asked why Sportfolioz was started Jbaihi says “ It’s all about connecting players, agents, scouts and fans with each other in the best possible way”. While this idea isn’t unique, nor is it reinventing the wheel, their isn’t something out there at the moment focus on Canadian sport that is doing it to the degree that Sportfolioz are. This site is a social network in the truest sense. All members of the site are able to connect with each other through chatting, a “Locker Room” message posting application and creating networks with a “Team Members” feature. These are just a few aspects that make this site a unique experience and in the process sets them a part from the rest.
In his experiences as a coach Jbaihi has seen his fair share of players while scouting and has also been contacted by players in different ways both traditional or otherwise. He stated “Sportfolioz will have all the information in a neat and clean area, embedded videos, clean outline of a player CV, up to date statistics and photos for all to see”. He went on to say, “We will also outline if a player has changed clubs and what level he’s currently playing. This is crucial for coaches, scouts and agents”.
This is a very intriguing project from my perspective simply based on what it can do for fans of Canadian soccer, as Sportfolioz can give us a glimpse into the stars of tomorrow and watch their progression at a fairly rapid rate. It will aid those interested in grassroots soccer and the growth of the game to see players from other provinces in a way that Twitter, Facebook and Youtube just can’t do on their own.
For example, fans from Eastern Canada can connect with top young players from Western or Atlantic Canada, create a connection and watch them rise up the ranks from youth soccer to semi professional and colligate soccer to hopefully professional soccer. This will help develop the countries soccer culture and give Canadian supporters pride when saying “I saw that kid play when he was 12 year old and now he’s on the Canadian National Team”.
When asked what the future holds for Sportfolioz Jbaihi indicated some interesting and lofty ideas “We are ultimately looking at live stat tracking, so as players score goals, provide assists etc… it will automatically get updated to their profile” he added “We are also looking at producing player business cards that will not only have the players name and info on it but also their stats and clubs played for”.
Sportfolioz is a very interesting project and it will be fascinating to follow its progression, for more information visit their website www.sportfolioz.com follow them on Twitter @Sportfolioz or follow Omar Jbaihi directly @lomari0705
Kamal Hylton is Owner/Freelance Soccer Writer at Hylton Sports Media,
he specializes in covering Youth Development in Canada and the
CONCACAF Region as well as European leagues such as Bundesliga, Serie A and UEFA Champions League. Follow him on Twitter to view all
his work.
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